Slides in the southern Whitefish Range

FAC staff visited the southern Whitefish Range to assess near surface instabilities and snowpack structure.

• We found 7-8 inches of new snow above 6000 feet. Most of this fell Sunday and was accompanied by several hours of moderate southwest winds with strong gusts.
• Despite Sunday's breezy conditions, the snow surface remained soft and generally lacked cohesion in most locations. 
• Shooting cracks and collapsing were common on an open east aspect at 6200 feet. We were able to intentionally trigger narrow soft slabs in the new snow. Slides failed on a layer of weak facets 8-12 inches below the surface. Due to the soft surface slab, slides only propagated 10-15 feet wide.
• We looked at a rider-triggered slide on a north aspect at 6500 feet. This avalanche failed on the same layer of weak facets about a foot below the surface. Propagation was limited by the soft surface slab to 25 feet or so.
• The snowpack structure in this area is poor and will probably prove problematic once a sufficient load arrives. Besides the facet layer, most of the pack consists of weak snow. Removing boots from skis resulted in sinking crotch deep and humorous wallowing. 
• Riding was generally quite fun in all aspects.